Typewriting machine



Mar. 6, 1923.

- J. A. B. SMITH TYPEWRITING MACHINE 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed June 17, 1920 Mar. 6, 1923.

J. A. B. SMITH TYPEWRITING MACHINE 2. sheetssheet 2.

Filed June 17, 1920 vm/wi Patented Mar. 6, 1923.

UNITE STATES FATE JESSE A. B. SMITH, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 UNDERWOOD TYPE- WRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRI TING MACHINE.

Application filed June 17, 1920. Serial No. 389,556.

To all 'wl'o'm. it may concern Be it known that I, Jnssn A. B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States. residing in Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Typewriting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to t-ypewriting machines, and is herein disclosed as applied to an Underwood continuous billing machine, one form of which is disclosed in the patent to \VernenvX; Smith, Np. 1.132.055, dated March 16, 1915, in which the typewriter ca 1'- riage comprises a rear extension upon which is reciprocable, to and from the platen, acarbon-paper carriage adapted to carry carbon sheets for the reproduction in carbon copies of matter typed upon an outer sheet.

In such machines, the carbon sheets usually have hitherto been sheets of limited length which were clipped to clip bars upon the carbon-paper carriage. When any sheet was worn out, the clip was released and a new sheet clipped in'place of the exhausted one which was removed.

According to the present invention. there may be substituted. in this and other kinds of typewriting machines. carbon-supply rolls which are herein illustrated as mounted upon the carbon-paper carriage of the machines built along the lines of said Vernery & Smith patent. these rolls or reels being arranged successively .one above another and normally comparatively close together.

To separate the carbon reels from. each otherto enable them to be freely rotate-d, they may be supported by an upright or upstanding reel-mount comprising lazy tongs, which normally allow the reels to rest close. to each other, successiwly'one above another. but which are adapted to be actuated to separate the reels. The reels may be guided and steadied in their lazy tongs supports by an upright or upstanding guide-arm forming a part of the reel-mount and which. together with the lazy tongs, is adapted to be rocked to automatically separate the reels from each other. For effecting this separation, an actuating arm may have a'cam-and-slot connection to the lazy tongs, such that drawing forward upon the upright arm expands or extends the lazy tongs to lift the reels and separate them as described. The drawing forward of the upright arm shortens the disreel-carrying arm in its upright position,

thus maintaining the reels close together.

The separation of the carbon reels provides for the free rotation of these reels in order to unwind fresh or unused portions of the carbon-webs to take the place of the portions of these webs which have been worn out by use; and the bringing together of these carbon reels reduces the space between the interposed work-webs to a minimum. allowing them to extend along a morenearly straight line, so that, in the operation of the machine. these webs may be more easily drawn forward and also kept in register.

The carbon reels are oblong in cross-section. preferably fiat in form, to provide for their being brought more closely together for use, and also, when thus brought together. the rotation f these reels may be positively prevented by cross-bars or rods which are provided to guide the work-webs between or adjacent the carbon reels, and between which the carbon reels are located.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side view, largely diagrammatic and partly in section, showing a machine of the kind described with my invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side view of the reels and, upright arm, with the upright arm swung forward to separate the reels.

Figure 3 is a front face view of the parts seen in Figure 2, and standing in the Figure 2 position. i

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a reel, showing the carbon web and its mounting thereon.

In the usual Underwood continuous billing machine, work webs l, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are led down over the rear paper-table 6, forming part of the typewriter carriage 7, and are the held against the platen 8 by the usual rear and front feed-rolls 9 and 10.

The webs are interleaved with carbonsheets 11, 12, 13 and 1 4 which normally extend as far as the printing line, and from that line the webs and carbon-sheets, in the operation of typing, pass above the usual front knife 14 and lie upon a front papertable 15. \Vhen a form on the webs 12, 13, etc., has been fully typed, the platen is swing; up in its swing-frame 16 by rotating rame around the front shaft 17 and then the webs are drawn forward, straight beneath the platen, and gaged against the usual leading-edge gage 18, adjusta'bly mounted on the usual gage member 19. \Vhile the webs are held in this position, the carbon-sheets are pulled backwardly by pushing upon the usual handle 20 to carry rearwardl the carbon-paper carriage 21, thus pulling rearwardly-the carbon-sheets 11, 12, 13 and'14 while the webs 1, 2, etc., are held in their gaged position. The car hon-paper carriage 21 travels on side rails 22, connected at their rear by cross-bar 23 to form a rear extension of the typewriter carriage 7. Usually there is provided a rear stop 24 which serves to arrest the carbonpaper carriage when the carbon sheets have been withdrawn behind the knife 14 or to the printing line.

According to the present invention, the carbon-sheets 11, 12, 13 and 14 instead of being short sheets, as is customarily the case, may be in the form of webs of considerable length wound respectively upon reels 25, 26, 27 and 28, said reels being mounted to slide at each endupward or downward in an upright guide arm 29 u on the carriage 21 which, at its lower on is pivoted upon a bracket 30 fast to a rear extension 31 of the carbon-paper carriage 2 1. The reels 25, 26, 27 and 28 are oblong in cross-section and are preferably flat sided, as shown, in Figures 1 and 2, thus enabling comparatively long carbon-webs to be wound u on them without bringing the surfaces of t ewound webs on adjacent reels-too close to each other, while permitting. theireels to be brought more closely together, with their flat sides adjacent each other, in their normal position, shown in Figure 1. The webs 1, 2, etc., are drawn from the rear between the reels 25, etc., and together with the carbon sheets 11, 12, etc., are carried downwardly to crossbars 33 extending across the front part of the carbon-pa er carrier 21, and mounted, one above anot er, in fixed brackets .34 thereon, there being for each carbon-sheet and its overlying web a separate cross-bar 33 as well as an additional cross-bar for the inside web. 5. The cross-bars 33 serve to bring the webs and the carbon-sheets together so that they travel substantially toreaaavo gether and nearly horizontally to the usual cross-bar 35 at the top of the paper-table 6.

As has been stated, the reels 25, 26, 27 and 28 are flat sided to enable them to be placed closer together than would be possi ble with round reels, and are adapted to be moved apart to enable the reels to be rotated without interference with each other. Each reel is carried by a pivot bolt 36 at one end, and a pivot bolt 37 at the other end, each bolt carried by crossing bars 38 and 39 of lazy tongs, said tongs also comprising pivots 40, which connect the respective pairs of bars 38 and 39. The bolts 36 and 37 extend through longitudinal guide-slots 40 in the respective'upright arms 29, which serve to guide the lazy tong elements 38 and 39. The lazy tongs are pivoted to swing to-and from the platen together with the guidearm 29, and, for this purpose in the construction shown in the drawings, the lazy tongs at their lower ends are pivoted on the bracket 30 along with the guide-arm 29. Normally the lazy tongs stand retracted or collapsed, in their Fi re 1 position, in which the reels 25, 26, 2 and 28 are close to each other, with their fiat sides adjacent, but they are adapted to be concomitantly. spread to the Figure 2 position automatically. For this purpose, the upright arms 29, which are connected by a top cross-bar 41, have fast to each, near its bottom, acamming arm 42, which is adapted to operate, by a cam-andpin connection 43, an actuating arm 44. The arm 44 has a slot 45 at its outer end through which passes the bolt 36 of the reel 25, said bolt being for the purpose slightly longer than the bolts of the other reels.

In order to actuate simultaneously the two ends of the reels 25, etc., and thetwo lazy tongs, there is provided a second actuating arm 46 for the other side of the machine, provided with similar connections and adapted to actuate the other lazy tongs at the same speed as the lazy tongs first named. The arrangement of parts is such that the camming arm 42 lifts the actuating arm 44, and thereby lifts the reels 25, expanding the lazy tongs to lift the reels all to their Figure 2 position in which they are" separated far enough to allow the reels 25, etc., to turn independently of each other and of interfering parts.

In order to guide the webs 1, 2, etc., clear of the reels 25, etc., there issupported by each pair of bolts 36 and 37, a slide 47 which rises and falls with the shafts of its reel, said ,slides 47 having at their upper ends crossibars 48 which extend transversely of the collapse of the lazy tongs below the Fig ure 1 positionv is impossible, since in that position each pair of elements 38, 39 rests upon the cross-bar 48 immediately below it. For the web 1, there is provided a special crossbar 50, extending from one arm 29 to another below'the slot 40,-so that the web 1 is always clear of the adjacent reel 25.

The reels 25, etc., are each formed sub stantially as an oval, i. e., a flat member, having rounded ends 51 around which carbon-sheets are wound, and each has, at one end thereof, a short stub extension 52, carrying a trunnion 53, which extends into an opening in the adjacent bolt 36. To enable the reels to be removed, each reel also comprises, at its other end, a short slidable stub 54 normally pressed outward by a spring 55, seated in a hollow 56 in'its reel and bearing against the 'boss 57 of the adjacent bolt 37 with enough friction so that the reel will ordinarily not turn, but adapted to permit lengths of the carbon-web or sheet to be unwound from the reels by drawing strongly on these carbon-sheets in the extended, or elevated position of the lazy-tongs device shown in Fi re 2. The outward .throw of the stub 54 is limited by a pin 58 projecting therefrom into a short slot 59 in the surface of the reel. The inner throw of the stub 54 is also limited by flange 60, which serves as a finger-piece in removing the reel and carries a pin or trunnion 61 adapted to seat itself in the-boss 57. Normally the arms 29 stand in the Figure 1 position in which they are held by thumb-screws 62 adapted to be screwed down upon the pins 63 of the connections 43, binding the arms 44, with the result that the brackets 64, on which the arms 44 are pivoted, hold the upright arms 29 and their reels firmly in place.

In the collapsed or normal condition of the lazy tongs, shown in Figure. 1, the lower flat sides of the carbon-reels 25, 26, 27 and 28 comes so near to the underlying webguiding bars 48 and 50 that any substantial rotative movement of these reels is positively prevented. This construction assures that there can be no unwinding of the carbonwebs from the reels during the retraction of the carbons when the carbon-paper carriage 21 and its rear extension 31 are moved rearwardly to retract the carbons relatively tothe work-webs.

When it is desired to discard -used sections of carbon-sheets and to draw upon the carbon-webs 11, 12. etc.-, for new sections, the. typist releases the thumb-screws 62 and swings the arms 29 forward from the Figure 1 to the Figure 2 position, expanding the lazy tongs, thereby concomitantly moving all the carbon-reels upward and at the same time away from each other, while the webguiding bars 48 partake of this movement. This is usually done after typing has been usual knife 14*, while the webs and carbonsheets are locked against the platen by feedrolls 9 and 10. Then the typist swings the arms 29 back to their normal upright position and locks them in place by tightening up the thumb-screws 62, thus" automatically taking up the slack in 'the carbon-sheets caused by the concomitant'dropping of the reels, which are moved concomitantly downward and at the same time towards each other. The typist then retracts the carbonpaper carriage in the usual way, leaving the carbon-sheets and webs ready for advancing during the next typing operation. In order .to obtain sufiicient rigidity and yet preserve the lightness of the carbon-paper carriage 21, the handle 20 may be mounted upon a section of. the carriage built in the usual form and having four wheels or rolls 65. The extension 31 may likewise runon four wheels or rolls 66 and be connected to the carriage 21 by a connectin bar 67. The

shouldered bolts 36 and 3 have nuts 68.

adapted to be screwed down upon their respective shoulders 69, thus forming bearings both for the slides 47 and for the lazy tongs members 38 and 39.

The carbon webs or sheets 11, 12, 13, and

14 may be wound on cardboard cores 70 (Figure 4) adapted to be slipped on over the reel 25, 26, 27 or 28.

Variations may be resorted t within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-:

1. In a typewriting machine,.'the combination with acarriage and a platen, of a plurality f flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbon-sh'eets to lie between work-webs,

and a support for said reels adapted to normally maintain them close together and adapted to be operated to separate them to permit them to be turned to unwind a fresh length of carbonsheet, a

2. In a typewriting inachine, the combination'with a traveling carriage and aplaten,

of amextension of said carriage, a carbonpaper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbon-sheets to lie between work-Webs, and-a support for said reels upon said carbon-paper carriage and adapted to normally maintain them close together and adapted to be operated to separate them to permit them to be turned to unwind a fresh length of carbon-sheet.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination With a traveling carriage and a platen. of an extension of said carriage, a carbonpaper-carriage adapted to be reciproeated upon said extension, a plurality of fiat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work-webs, a support for said reels pivoted upon the carbonpaper-carriage and adapted to normally ,maintain them close together, and connections made effective by turning the support upon its pivot for separating the reels to permit them to be turned to unwind a fresh length of carbon-sheet.

4. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage, a carbon-paper-carriage adapted t be reciprocated upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work-webs, a support or guide for said reels pivoted upon the carbon-paper-carriage, the reels being normally close together, lazy tongs connected to aid reels, and av cam connected to said carbon-paper-carriage to separate the reels at the rocking of the support or guide upon its pivot.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage, a carbon-paper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work-webs, a support or guide for-said reel mounted upon the carbon-paper-carriage, the reels being normally close together, lazy tongs connected to said reels, web-guide-bars held between the reels by the lazy tongs, and means adapted to actuate the lazy tongs to separate the reels from each other and from the guidebars to permit them to be turned.

6. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage. a carbon-paper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work-webs, means for supporting said reels close to each other so that webs may be threaded through them with a minimum of bending between the rear of the extension and the platen, guiderods adjacent the reels for guiding the webs, and means for separating the reels to enable them to be turned to unwind new carbon lengths therefrom.

7 In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage, a carbonpaper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated that webs may be threaded through them with a minimum of bending between the rear of the extension and the platen, guiderods adjacent the reels for guiding the webs, v

means for separating the reels to enable them t be turned to unwind new carbon lengths therefrom. a paper-table, and guiding devices in front of the reels on the carbon-paper-carriage adapted to guide the webs and carbon-sheets so that they approach the paper-table nearly horizontally.

8. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage and a platen, of a plurality of fiat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbon-sheets between work-webs threaded through them, journals for said reels so that they may lie in rather close horizontal planes. and a carbon-paper-carriage reciprocable to and from the platen upon which said journals are mounted, said journals including friction devices adapted to normally .hold the reels against turning, but adapted to permit lengths of carbon-sheet to be unwound from the reels by drawing strongly on the carbon-sheets.

9. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen. of an extension of said carriage, a carbon-paper-carriage adapted to be. reciprocated upon saidextension, a plurality of fiat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work-webs, a guiding.

arm for said reels mounted on the carbonpaper-carriage, journals for' said reels slidable in a slot in said arm to separate the reels from a writing position in which they are close to each other so that webs pas between them with a minimum bend, and means for so separating the reels to enable them to be turned.

10. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage. a

carbon-paper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work-webs, a guiding arm for said reels mounted on the carbonpaper-carriage, journals for said reels slidare close to each other so, that webs pass be;

sheets to lie between work-webs, a guiding arm for said reels pivoted on the carbonpaper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated' upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbon-sheets to lie between work-webs, a .guiding arm for said reels pivoted on the carbon-papercarriage, journals for said reels slidable in a slot in said arm to separate the reels from a writing position inv which they are close to each other so that webs pass between them with a minimum bend, lazy tongs adapted to separate the reels to enable them to be turned, and alcam connection between the-lazy tongs and carbon-paper-carriage to actuate the lazy tongs by'swinging the arm.

13. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage, a carbon-paper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbon-- sheets to lie between work-webs, a guiding arm for said reels mounted on the carbon-. paper-carriage, journals for said reels slidable in a slot in's'aid arm to separate the.

reels from a writing position in which they tween "them with aminimumbend, means forso se arating the reels to enable them to be turned and web-guiding-bars also guided in said slot and adapted to be separated from the. reels by said means.

14. In a typewriting machine, the combination with 'a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage,- a carbon-pap'er-carriage adapted to bev reciprocated upon said-extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply car hon-sheets to lie between work-webs, a supporting arm for saidreels mounted on the, carbon-papencarria e, journals for said reels shdable ina s 0t in said arm to separate the reels from a writing position in which they are close to each otherso that webs pass between them with a minimum bend, lazy tongs connected to the reels to separate the reels to enable them to be turned, and web-guiding-bars carried by said tongs to be separated at their actuation. 15. In atypewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage, a

paper-carriage.

carbon-paper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work webs, a guiding arm for said reels mounted on the carbonpaper-carriage, journals for said reels slidable in a slot in said arm to separate the reels from a writing position in which they are close to each other so that webs pass between them with a minimum bend, lazy tongs connected to the reels to separate the reels to enable them to be turned, and webguiding bars supported by said journals between the reels and separated from the nearest reel at the actuation of the tongs.

16. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage and a platen, of a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapated to supply carbon-sheets between work-webs threaded through them, journals for said reels so that they may lie. in rather close horizontal planes, a carbon-paper-carriage reciprocable to and from the platen upon 7 which said journals are mounted, and means for detachably supporting the reels in the journals.

17. In a t pewritin'g machine, the com bination wit a traveling carriage and a platen, of an extension of said carriage, a

carbon-paper-carriage adapted-to be recipv rocated upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work-webs,' journals in which said reels are detachably supported, and means for separating the journals to enlar e the s ace between the reels to' enable t em to e turned.

.18.'In a typewri'ting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage. and a platen, of an extension of said carriage, a carbon-paper-carriage adapted to be reciprocated upon saidextension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels adapted to supply carbonsheets to lie between work-webs, lazy tongs upon the carbon-paper-carriage, journals for said reels at the crossings of the lazy tongs, and connections for actuating the tongs by swinging them on the carbon- 19. In a tgpewriting machine, the combination ,wit a. traveling. carriage and a platen, of a rear extension of said carriage,

acarbon-paper carriage reciprocableto and from the platen upon sald extension, a plurality 'of-flatcarbon-reels arrangedat different heights. for supplying carbon-sheets to lie H between work-webs, anupstanding mount'for the reels pivoted upon the carbon-paper carriage, the reels being normally close together with their fiat sides adjacent,

"guides upon the carbon-paper carriage between the reelsandthe platen. for guiding the webs and carbon-sheets to the. platen, and means-actuated by SWlnglng the mount ing a longitudinal guide-slot therein, journals for the reels slidable in the guide-slots in the guiding arms to enable the reels to be moved apart from a normal writing position in which they are close to each other with their flat sides adjacent, so that workwebs may pass between them with a minimum bend, to a more widely separated position,web-guiding bars also slidably guided by said slots to enable the reels and the bars to be separated, and means actuated by swinging the guiding arms upon their pivots for separating the reels from each other and from the web-guiding bars to enable the reels to be turned for unwinding carbon-sheets therefrom.

21. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of a rear extension of the carriage, a carbon-paper carriage reciprocable to and from the platen upon said extension, a plurality of flat carbon-reels arranged at different heights for supplying carbon-sheets to lie between work-webs, a pair of upstanding guiding arms .for the carbon-reels pivoted upon the carbon-paper carriage and each having a longitudinal guide-slot therein, journals for the carbon-reels slidable in the guide-slots in the guiding arms to enable the reels to be moved apart from a normal writing position in which they are close to each other with their flat sides adjacent, so that work-webs may pass between them with a minimum bend, to a more widely separated position to enable the carbon-reels to be turned for unwinding carbon-sheets therefrom, lazy tongs actuated by swinging the guiding arms upon their pivots to sep arate the reels, and web-guiding bars carried by the lazy tongs to be separated thereby when the lazy tongs are actuated.

22. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage and a platen, of an upstanding reel-mount comprising lazy tongs carried by the carriage, and reels carried by the lazy tongs to be separated or brought closetogether thereby.

23. In a typewriting mac ine, the com: bination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of a rear extension of said carriage, acarbon-paper carriage reciprocable to and from the platen on said extension, an up-' standing reel-mount comprising-lazy tongs mounted upon the carbon-paper carriage, carbon-reels carried one above another by the lazy tongs to be separated or brought close together thereby, and web-guides also carried by the lazy tongs one above another in alternate relation with the carbon-reels to be separated or brought close together by the lazy tongs.

24. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage and a platen, of an upstanding reel-mount carried by the carriage, and reels movably carried by the reelmount successively one above another and normally comparatively near to each other, the reel-mount including means for concomitantly moving the reels upward away from or downward towards each other, the reels being oblong in cross-section to permit them to be brought near to each other in their normal position.

25. In a typewriting' machine, the combination with a carriage and a platen, of

an upstanding reel-mount movabl mountedon the carriage, flat reels movab y carried by the reel-mount successively one above another and close to each other, and means operated by themovement of the reel-mount for concomitantly moving the reels upward away from or downward towards each other.

26. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage and a platen, of an upstanding reel-mount pivotally mounted on the carriage at the rear of the platen to swing towards or away from the platen, reels movably carried by the reel-mount successively one above another and normally comparatively near to each other, means operated by the forward swinging of the reel-mount for concomitantly moving the reels farther apart, and operated by the rearward swinging of the reel-mount to re turn the reels concomitantly to normal position near to each other, and means made efiective by the return of the reels to normal position to hold them against rotation.

27. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage and a platen, of a rear extension of said carriage. a carbon-paper carriage reciprocable to and from the platen on said extension, an upstanding reel-mount' on the carbon-paper carriage, web-guides movably .carried by the reel-mount, carbon-reels movably carried by the reel-mount between the web-guides, and means included in the reel-mount for concomitantly se arating or concomitantly moving towards each other both the webguides and the carbon-reels.

'JESSE' A. B. SMITH.

Witnesses 'JENNIE P. ,THORNE, Rosa GEBSTEIN. 

